Department for Communities and Local Government

Rented Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take against landlords who fail to maintain their properties in a safe and fit state of repair.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Housing Health and Safety Rating System assesses the health and safety risks in all residential properties. Under the Housing Act 2004, following an Rating System inspection, if a local authority identifies a serious hazard they can take action, including issuing an Improvement Notice or a Hazard Awareness Notice. In extreme circumstances, the local authority may decide to make repairs themselves, or to prohibit that property from being rented out. Where a landlord fails to comply with a statutory notice, this is an offence, and they can be prosecuted by the local authority. From October 2015 we introduced protection for tenants from retaliatory eviction, where they have a legitimate complaint about the condition of the property.The Housing and Planning Bill will strengthen local authorities’ ability and incentives to tackle rogue landlords by introducing measures including:A database of rogue landlords and property agents convicted of certain offences;Banning orders for the most serious and prolific offenders;Civil penalties of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecution;Extension of Rent Repayment Orders to cover illegal eviction, breach of a banning order or failure to comply with a statutory notice;A more stringent fit and proper person test for landlords of licensable properties such as Houses in Multiple Occupation.My Department also recently announced a further £5 million of funding across 48 local authorities to tackle the worst rogue landlords in their areas.

Leader of the House of Lords

Northern Ireland Office: Written Questions

Lord Laird: To ask the Leader of the House when was the most recent time that she gave guidance to the Northern Ireland Office on the importance of answering parliamentary written questions in full, providing all the information requested.

Lord Laird: To ask the Leader of the House, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 9 February (HL5480), what discussion she has had with the Northern Ireland Office about answering parliamentary written questions in full.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: As Leader of the House, I regularly stress to departments the importance of giving full and timely answers to Questions for Written Answer. The content of each answer is a matter for the Minister concerned, and each Minister is responsible to the House for the answers they provide. That direct accountability is important: that is why Ministers in this House must provide personally signed answers to members.The Ministerial Code says that “It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament”. It also makes clear that “Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest”. In addition, there is a longstanding rule of this House that all answers should be complete and comprehensible. I shall continue to make this guidance clear to all Ministers.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Burundi: Armed Conflict

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have deployed, or intend to deploy, experts from the UK preventing sexual violence in conflict initiative team to help support local responses in Burundi to conflict-related sexual violence.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We take the allegations of sexual violence in Burundi very seriously. The UK has been at the forefront of supporting the UN’s efforts to encourage an end to violence and human rights abuses in the country. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), has raised the subject with the Government of Burundi, including with the Burundian Foreign Minister at the African Union Summit in January. While we have not deployed any experts from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials will explore the possibility of supporting non-governmental organisations already present and active in Burundi when the allegations first came to our attention.

Burundi: Armed Conflict

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to engage the African Union and the East African Community in efforts to stabilise the situation in Burundi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In the margins of the African Union (AU) Summit, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), met with the Chair of the AU Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the AU’s Peace and Security Commissioner Smail Chergui and a number of African Foreign Ministers. We are exploring what more we can do to support the AU’s leadership, and have intensified our efforts at the UN and with our EU partners to halt the violence.The UK strongly supports the East African Community-led dialogue and sees it as crucial in finding a solution to stabilising the situation. The parties met for the first time on 28 December and the second round of talks is scheduled for 16 February. Alongside our international partners we continue to press them to engage.

North Korea: Guided Weapons

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of North Korea's rocket launch; what steps they intend to take as part of their robust response; what discussions they have had with the government of China about the possibility of tightening sanctions against North Korea; and what discussions they are having with the government of South Korea about deploying a missile defence system.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), strongly condemned the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s satellite launch of 7 February, which used ballistic missile technology in clear violation of a number of UN Security Council Resolutions. On 8 February the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), summoned the DPRK’s Ambassador to make clear the UK’s strong condemnation of the launch. The DPRK’s actions are a further threat to regional security and the stability of the Korean peninsula. It is clear that the DPRK continues to prioritise its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes over the welfare of its people. We continue to work closely with other members of the UN Security Council to ensure significant and substantive measures are agreed in response to the DPRK’s provocations. On 8 February the Prime Minister, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and the Foreign Secretary raised this with the Chinese Ambassador and reiterated the need for progress on a new UN Resolution. We are not part of discussions with the Republic of Korea on a missile defence system, but we respect and support our allies' need to defend themselves.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding its latest land appropriation in the Jordan Valley.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this issue with the Israeli authorities. However, we have been clear that Area C (including a significant proportion of the Jordan Valley) is an integral part of a future Palestinian State. Our Consul-General in Jerusalem recently authored an article in the Israeli press about Area C. Officials from our Consulate General have also hosted several events in Area C, including in the Jordan Valley, highlighting our support for Palestinian communities in Area C.

Mohammed al-Qeeq

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the continued detention of Mohammed al-Qeeq, currently on hunger strike, without charge or trial.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not made any representations on this specific case, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are following this case and those of the other hunger strikers closely and have spoken to Amnesty International about them. Officials from our Consulate General in Jerusalem maintain a dialogue with the relevant Palestinian organisations about the condition of the hunger strikers. The EU in Jerusalem recently issued a local statement on administrative detentions, including the case of Mr Al Qeeq. We have been informed that Mr al-Qeeq is in a stable condition and has not been forced-fed as alleged. We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice, and as a preventive rather than a punitive measure.

Israel: Equality

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the rejection by the Knesset of the amendment proposed by MK Jamal Zahalka to include a clause on equality in Israel's Basic Law.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the case of the Hares Boys.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We continue to monitor developments in the case of the Hares boys and raise the issue with the Israeli authorities.

Israel: Christianity

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the UK Embassy in Israel has taken to monitor attacks on Christian places of worship.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are in regular contact with representatives of churches on a range of issues, including concern about attacks on places of worship. The last attack occurred on 17 January when the Dormition Abbey compound of the Orthodox Church in the Old City of Jerusalem was vandalised with anti-Christian slogans. The ‘Tag Meir’ organisation has listed 44 cases of vandalism and arson on Christian and Muslim places of worship in Israel and the West Bank since December 2009.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the demolition of 22 structures in Khirbet Jenbah in order to create an army training zone.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv recently raised the demolitions in a high-level meeting with a senior Israeli defence official. We also regularly raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities over demolitions in general.

Syria: UN Resolutions

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is under way to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and previous resolutions on Syria.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: On 11 February, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), took part in the latest round of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting in Munich to discuss with his counterparts how to best support the political process and necessary supporting steps, including a ceasefire and confidence building measures, called for in UN Security Council resolution 2254. The ISSG agreed the need to implement a cessation of hostilities within a week, to delivering humanitarian assistance to named besieged communities by this weekend and to facilitate rapid progress in negotiations aimed at political transition. If implemented fully and properly by every ISSG member this will be an important step towards relieving the killing and suffering in Syria. But it will only succeed if there is a major change of behaviour by the Syrian regime and its supporters. Russia, in particular, claims to be attacking terrorist groups and yet consistently bombs non-extremist groups including civilians. If this agreement is to work, this bombing will have to stop: no cessation of hostilities will last if moderate opposition groups continue to be targeted.

Lauren Patterson

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support the British Embassy in Doha, Qatar, has given, or plans to give, the Patterson family whose daughter Lauren Patterson was murdered in Qatar in 2013, in the light of the decision by the Court of Cassation in Doha on 1 February 2015 to reject the guilty verdict against Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah Al-Jabar.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Consular officials have been in regular contact with Ms Patterson’s family, and have provided assistance since her death in 2013, including raising the case with the Qatari authorities and accompanying the family to meetings and court. Since the hearing on 1 February, officials have been in contact with Mrs Patterson and her Qatari lawyer, who is awaiting written copies of the court’s judgment before advising the family on next steps. We will continue to provide support to the family and raise the case with the Qatari authorities as appropriate.

Gaza: International Red Cross

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Palestine about the re-opening the Red Cross offices closed by recent violence in Gaza.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We understand that the International Committee of the Red Cross office in Gaza closed on 7 February for security reasons following protests in solidarity with a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli detention. We have not raised this specific issue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) but we have urged the PA to make progress on resuming control in Gaza.

Northern Ireland Office

Unemployment: Young People

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in reducing the levels of youth unemployment in Northern Ireland over the last three years.

Lord Dunlop: The Government is reducing the largest structural deficit in UK peacetime history and this more than anything will help deliver a sustainable economic recovery and so directly assist young people get into employment.The Government has also abolished employer National Insurance Contributions for under-21 year olds from April 2015 making it cheaper for businesses in Northern Ireland to employ young people.According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the number of unemployed 16-24 year olds in Northern Ireland has fallen by 5 per cent in the last three years.

UK Membership of EU

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential impact on Northern Ireland of the UK leaving the EU.

Lord Dunlop: UK Government Ministers have regular contact with the Northern Ireland Executive to discuss a range of issues, including matters relating to the EU.

Languages: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, under the Belfast Agreement 1998, which underlined equality and parity of esteem for Irish and Ulster Scots languages, both languages are treated in an equal way, and of the causes of any inequalities that that assessment has identified.

Lord Dunlop: Her Majesty’s Government has not made an assessment of whether, under the Belfast Agreement, both Irish and Ulster Scots languages are treated in an equal way. The Northern Ireland Executive has responsibility for issues relating to Irish and Ulster Scots in Northern Ireland under the terms of the devolution settlement.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

National Institute of Adult Continuing Education: Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion

Baroness Rebuck: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the merger of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education and the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: No assessment has been made of the merger of these two independent organisations.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Legislation

Baroness Smith of Basildon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice has been provided this Session for ministers or senior officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on whether to use secondary legislation or primary legislation for significant legislation.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There has been no change in approach to the use of primary and secondary legislation since the General Election. Each piece of legislation is approached within the context of the policy and the existing legislative framework. There is no evidence of an increase in the number of statutory instruments laid since 2010 or since the General Election. Briefing produced by the House of Commons Library (CBP 7438) shows that the number of statutory instruments laid before the House of Commons peaked at 1,885 in the 2005-06 session, compared to 1,378 last session and 540 so far this session.

Students: Plagiarism

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 26 January (HL5024), whether the Quality Assurance Agency requests data from higher education institutions regarding the number of cases of plagiarism and how those cases were handled each year.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There is no centrally held set of data on the number of recorded plagiarism cases in higher education. This is an institutional matter and cases are handled by individual institutions.

*No heading*

Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on exports of the decision to reduce the budget of UK Trade and Investment.

Lord Maude of Horsham: Savings will be broadly delivered through implementing a new digital infrastructure to provide cost-effective access to export services; contractual efficiencies; and prioritising market and sector opportunities that will add most value to UK exports. This is about being more efficient and delivering for UK businesses, including through enhancing direct support and developing the private sector market.HM Treasury has recognised the importance of the exports agenda by agreeing that £175m of further proposed savings between 2016-17 and 2019-20 should be reinvested in priority areas. The Government is committed to driving a step-change in UK exports and the reinvestment secured to refocus UK Trade & Investment will help us deliver this.

*No heading*

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the balance of trade between Burundi and the UK.

Lord Maude of Horsham: In 2015 the UK had a trade in goods surplus with Burundi of £1.7 million (Source: HM Revenue and Customs’ Overseas Trade Statistics database).It is not possible to estimate the trade in services balance between the UK and Burundi as data on UK trade in services with Burundi are not published by the Office for National Statistics.

Department for Education

Regional Schools Commissioners

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the budget of each Regional School Commissioner; who scrutinises and audits those budgets; how many staff are employed by each Commissioner; and whether those Commissioner budgets are made publicly available at the end of each financial year, and if so, how.

Lord Nash: Each Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) has an annual budget of approximately £560k for the 2015-16 financial year. This consists of a programme budget of £40k per region and an administration budget of approximately £520k. The programme budget is to cover costs related to events and other communications activities. The administration budget is for staff costs, for example salary and travel. In addition, each RSC also has a Head Teacher Board (HTB) budget of approximately £100k annually to recompense the HTB members’ employer for loss of staff time. There are a number of other budgets that are used to support the work of the RSCs and the delivery of the academies and free schools programmes, but these are not held by the RSCs themselves. In line with the Department for Education’s internal review and governance arrangements, RSCs are required to provide financial reports each month, as well as an assurance statement at year end. Their budgets are included within the annual financial scrutiny and audit of the DfE accounts carried out by internal audit and externally scrutinised by the National Audit Office (NAO). At present, each RSC office employs between 8 and 10 members of staff. The RSC and their office’s salary information are included within the Department’s salary details published on GOV.UK.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have undertaken into the number of legal practitioners who will still be able to provide criminal legal aid services in England and Wales in the light of the decision to abandon proposals to reduce significantly the number of duty solicitors in those countries.

Lord Keen of Elie: All organisations who bid for own client contracts in 2015 will have the opportunity to bid for criminal legal aid work when we invite applications for replacement contracts later in the year. As my colleague, Lord Faulks, told the House on 28 January, a process of natural consolidation is already taking place in the criminal legal aid market, following the reduction in crime and natural competition.

Legal Aid Scheme

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will reinstate legal aid for qualifying UK residents seeking to re-unite with their immediate family members from overseas; and if not, why not.

Lord Keen of Elie: Our limited legal aid resources should be available for the highest priority cases and to the most financially vulnerable. There are no plans to change the legal aid arrangements for family reunion. As with all cases outside the scope of legal aid, exceptional funding may be available where required under ECHR or EU law. Guidance to support applications for family reunion is available from the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). UKVI issue guidance to help applicants, and the types of evidence requested to accompany an application - such as marriage and birth certificates - will usually be straightforward to collate.

Ministry of Defence

Libya: Military Intervention

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK personnel have been involved in military targeting planning meetings in Libya.

Earl Howe: We continue to engage with the Libyan authorities to support the UN political process and to counter the growth of extremist groups in Libya, including Daesh. The UK is considering, alongside our partners, how we can best support the new government.

Libya: Military Intervention

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are bound to consult or seek the approval of Parliament before undertaking aircraft or drone air strikes in Libya.

Earl Howe: The Government is committed to the convention that, before UK troops are committed to conflict, Parliament should have an opportunity to debate the matter except when there is an emergency and such action would not be appropriate.

Home Office

Human Trafficking: Children

Baroness Doocey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training on UK child trafficking patterns has been provided to French border officials at St Pancras International and Ashford International to help identify vulnerable children being trafficked out of the UK, and by whom.

Lord Bates: The UK Government takes child trafficking extremely seriously. All Border Force officers at the Eurostar ports in the UK France and Belgium have received training in keeping children safe and all operational processes involving children comply with requirements as set out in the Children and Young Persons Act. Border Force and Eurostar have daily contact on operational matters. When passengers are identified by Border Force officers as potential victims of trafficking, immediate action is taken to safeguard the individual by following Home Office guidance on the treatment of the victims of trafficking. Border Force collects data on these cases in order to notify the Human Trafficking Centre. Contact is also made with Camden Social Services Safeguarding Team as soon as possible in order to establish safe care of the child. Eurostar has its own policy on unaccompanied children travelling on its services which can be found on the internet at: http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/accessibility#unaccompanied_childrenBorder Force has not provided training to French border officials on UK child trafficking patterns. All cases of suspected trafficking detected by the French border officials at St Pancras are handed to the BTP to action. In France and Belgium any concerns Border Force officers have about vulnerable children attempting to travel to the UK would be referred to the French and Belgian frontier control authorities. The Home Office has not had any discussions with Patina Rail about a proposed new routing between St Pancras and Ashford.



Eurostar Policy - Unaccompanied Minors 
(PDF Document, 898.97 KB)




Eurostar Policy - Special Travel Needs 
(PDF Document, 314.7 KB)

Terrorism: British Nationals Abroad

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of UK nationals who have travelled to participate in terrorist-related activity in (1) Syria, (2) Iraq, (3) Libya, and (4) another country, from 2013 to date.

Lord Bates: We believe approximately 800 UK linked individuals have travelled to take part in the conflict in Syria and Iraq since it began. Many have joined Daesh and other terrorist groups. We cannot provide specific data on how many nationals have travelled to Libya or other countries on national security grounds.

Police: Recruitment

Lord Wasserman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which police forces in England and Wales have employed officers through the Direct Entry (Superintendent) Programme since its inception; how many officers each of those forces has employed; and how many of those individuals were still employed as police officers in each of those forces on 1 February 2016.

Lord Bates: The following forces have appointed direct entry superintendents since the programme’s inception.Avon and Somerset Police 2City of London Police 1Leicestershire 1Metropolitan 10North Yorkshire 1Of the 15 superintendents who started their training, 14 are still employed, 13 of these remaining police officers with the forces they were initially recruited to. In Avon and Somerset, one superintendent transferred to Sussex Police and one left.

HM Treasury

Employment: Northern Ireland

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a record is kept of persons employed in Northern Ireland whose primary addresses are in the Republic of Ireland, and what steps they have taken to ensure that such data are collected and updated regularly.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration from an employment is normally taxed in the country where it is earned, so the primary address of an employee is not relevant. As such the information is not held in the format requested.

Occupational Pensions

Lord Triesman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of occupational pension schemes registered in the UK as at 1 January 2011 and at 1 January 2016, indicating whether any of those schemes registered as at 1 January 2011 have been absorbed by or taken over by any of the schemes registered as at 1 January 2016.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Lists of registered occupational pension schemes are not readily available and can only be provided at a disproportionate cost. Information on which registered pension schemes have been absorbed or taken over by other registered pension schemes is not available.

Cabinet Office

Honours

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many newspaper journalists and publishers received awards in honours lists published between December 2011 and December 2015, broken down by individual list.

Lord Bridges of Headley: This information is published on GOV.UK.The number of newspaper journalists and publishers receiving awards in honours lists published between December 2011 and December 2015, broken down by individual list, is given below:New Year 2012 - 1Birthday 2012 - 3New Year 2013 - 4Birthday 2013 - 1New Year 2014 - 3Birthday 2014 - 1New Year 2015 - 2Birthday 2015 - nilNew Year 2016 - 1

Statutory Instruments

Lord Dobbs: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many statutory instruments were laid before Parliament in each Session since the 1997 General Election.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The number of statutory instruments laid before Parliament is recorded in the sessional returns. The House of Commons Library produce publications on this matter which show that the numbers peaked in the 2005-2006 session. The latest figures show that the number of UK statutory instruments laid before the House of Commons in each session since 1997 are as follows:1997-98: 18561998-99: 14791999-00: 14562000-01: 8682001-02: 17882002-03: 14742003-04: 12812004-05: 7932005-06: 18852006-07: 13612007-08: 13192008-09: 13022009-10: 8232010-12: 18092012-13: 9642013-14: 11732014-15: 13782015-16: 540 (so far in this session)